The invention relates to a motor vehicle, in particular to a motor vehicle having means for personalizing the motor vehicle.
Motor vehicles in which different settings are stored for different vehicle drivers are known. The settings of electrically adjustable mirrors, electrically adjustable seats and/or an audio system can be stored in a manner specific to particular vehicle drivers. A vehicle driver is identified in his vehicle by means of his key. The key is an electronic key which communicates with the control device of the motor vehicle when the vehicle is opened. The vehicle key contains a particular identification feature. This identification feature is transmitted to the electronic control device of the motor vehicle when the motor vehicle is opened. The control device then loads the parameters associated with this identification feature and adjusts the mirrors, seats and the audio system, for example, in the manner in which this vehicle driver left it the last time he used the motor vehicle. Different vehicle drivers who jointly use a motor vehicle should use different keys, so that they always obtain their individual settings in the motor vehicle.
EP 1 053 538 B1 discloses an advertising system containing different advertising messages. It has an apparatus for determining one or more advertising-specific parameters in the form of a particular feature of persons to whom advertising is to be disseminated. This feature may be, for example, the language used by a person in the vicinity of the advertising system. A further feature is the automobile brand of the motor vehicle driven by a person in the vicinity of the advertising system. These parameters can be independently detected by the determination apparatus. Individual advertising messages can be displayed on the advertising system on the basis of these parameters.
US 2007/0061190 A1 discloses a method in which features relating to the sales behavior of particular persons are collected on the Internet and personalized advertising messages are transmitted to these persons according to these features.
The invention is based on the object of developing a motor vehicle and a method in such a manner that the use of the motor vehicle is more convenient for the vehicle driver than in conventional motor vehicles.
This and other objects are achieved in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
A motor vehicle according to the invention includes: a vehicle driver identification device for identifying a vehicle driver; a signal generation device for generating a signal which is specific to the vehicle driver and is assigned by the vehicle driver identification device; and a transmitter which can be used to emit the signal specific to the vehicle driver, with the result that devices in the vicinity of the motor vehicle can specifically react to the presence of the vehicle driver.
The motor vehicle emits a signal specific to the vehicle driver, with the result that devices in the vicinity of the motor vehicle can gather parameters and information specific to the vehicle driver from this specific vehicle driver signal and can therefore react according to the requirements of the vehicle driver. The specific parameters and information may comprise, inter alia, the age, the sex, the language, the height, the weight of the vehicle driver and information relating to specific interests and hobbies. However, these parameters and this information may also have information relating to the destination to which the vehicle driver is headed and/or his planned activities.
Typical devices which can process such information are traffic and parking guidance systems, for example. If a vehicle driver is registered for an event, for example a trade fair, or has booked a holiday in a hotel, a parking guidance system at the trade fair or the hotel can recognize the vehicle driver and can direct him to his prereserved parking space by means of corresponding automatic signposting. If necessary, particular information relating to where the vehicle driver should register or check in can also be transmitted to him in situ. This is particularly advantageous for vehicle drivers in environments with which they are not familiar. Such a parking guidance system is also particularly advantageous in large companies having a plurality of parking garages or parking facilities distributed over a certain region, with the result that a visitor can be automatically directed to the parking facility most favorable for him.
Further devices are advertising displays and general information displays which can display information specific to the vehicle driver. The information output or displayed on the displays may be, in particular, information adapted to his individual requirements and/or to his individual and, in particular, current situation.
If a vehicle driver is recognized at the particular destination, persons waiting for him can be automatically informed of his presence and can meet him in situ. Such a device is advantageous, for example, for large companies in which visitors should not roam over the company premises without being accompanied, at least as far as possible. On the other hand, the vehicle driver is immediately personally received, which spares him an unpleasant search.
If a vehicle driver has a disabled status, he can be automatically directed to a free disabled parking space. The same applies to women's parking spaces, reserved parking spaces on a ferry or on an automobile train, at an airport terminal or the like.
If there are temporary traffic obstructions, for example as a result of accidents or bad weather, the individual motor vehicles can be individually diverted, in particular if the vehicle driver signal contains the destination, in which case further parameters such as vehicle size (automobile, truck), drive type (two-wheel drive, four-wheel drive), etc. can also be taken into account.
An aspect of the present invention is that, by emitting the specific signal, the vehicle driver can be identified by his environment, with the result that special information or services can be supplied to him. This considerably increases the convenience of using the motor vehicle in comparison with conventional motor vehicles which do not transmit a specific vehicle driver signal.
The vehicle driver can be identified by use of an electronic vehicle key at the vehicle driver identification device. Alternatively or additionally, provision may also be made of a biometric sensor which senses a fingerprint, a face and/or an iris structure. Additionally or alternatively, a radio sensor for reading an electronic identification card, for example an electronic identity card, may also be provided. The vehicle driver can also be identified by inputting an individual code on an input device in the motor vehicle. The biometric sensors and the radio sensor for reading an electronic identification card are preferred since they provide a high degree of protection against tampering and a high degree of interference reliability. As a result, it becomes difficult for third parties to be identified as a different vehicle driver in the motor vehicle without permission.
The signal generation device is preferably connected to a data memory which stores data specific to one or more vehicle drivers. If the vehicle driver is determined using the vehicle driver identification device, the signal generation device can read the data specific to the respectively determined vehicle driver from the data memory. These data are used when generating the specific vehicle driver signal.
The transmitter is designed to emit a radio signal, in particular a radio signal according to a predetermined standard. Such a standard is, for example, WLAN according to IEEE802.11a, IEEE802.11b, IEEE802.11ac, IEEE802.11ad, IEEE802.11g, IEEE802.11h, IEEE802.11n or Bluetooth, in particular Bluetooth V2.0, Bluetooth V3.0 or Bluetooth V4.0.
The motor vehicle may be provided with a receiver in order to carry out bidirectional communication with the devices together with the transmitter. A device may be classified as being in the vicinity of the motor vehicle, in particular, when the respective transmitters and receivers of the motor vehicle and of the device can set up a communication connection to one another on the basis of their transmitting or receiving power. Their proximity to one another can also be determined, in particular, by their respective geographical coordinates and the respective distances from one another. The motor vehicle and the device can be classified as being in the vicinity of one another when their distance undershoots a predetermined upper limit value.
A system according to the invention includes such a motor vehicle and a device which can receive the specific vehicle driver signal and can individually react on the basis of the parameters or information contained therein. The device has a receiver for receiving the specific vehicle driver signal and a signaling device in order to be able to transmit a signal to the vehicle driver. This signal may be an optical and/or acoustic signal, for example.
In accordance with the method according to the invention, a vehicle driver identification device of the motor vehicle is first of all used to identify a vehicle driver of a motor vehicle, and a signal generation device is used to generate a vehicle driver signal specific to the identified vehicle driver. The specific vehicle driver signal is emitted using a transmitter, with the result that devices in the vicinity of the motor vehicle can specifically react to the presence of the vehicle driver.
A signal which is not specific to the vehicle driver and indicates only that information specific to the vehicle driver is available is preferably first of all emitted, in which case, after receiving a device signal from a device in the vicinity of the motor vehicle, the device is identified using the device signal, the signal specific to the vehicle driver being emitted to the device after successful identification and checking of the device.
Instead of a signal which is not specific to the vehicle driver, it is also possible to emit a vehicle driver signal which is specific to the vehicle driver and initially contains only a reduced set of parameters and information relating to the vehicle driver, and a complete or extended set of information and parameters is transmitted to the respective device only when the device is identified. The motor vehicle can therefore provide the devices with individually different information. The devices can also request certain information from the motor vehicle if necessary.
A device may also have a plurality of receivers and transmitters which are networked to one another, in particular, along a particular road, for example a freeway, with the result that data can be interchanged between the motor vehicle and the device over a relatively long period.
The specific vehicle driver signal is preferably emitted only if a device has been identified as an authorized device or as a member of a group of authorized devices. This avoids personal information being passed on to unauthorized third parties.
Communication between the motor vehicle and the device is preferably carried out in encrypted form. Such encryption methods are known. An encryption method with public keys (for example RSA encryption) is appropriate for the present system.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.